Wednesday, August 4, 2010

“C” is for “Cuisine”The first day I arrived in France, years ago, my knowledge of the language was -- 'ow you say? -- rudimentary. Later I was to work in France and live in France and I became reasonably fluent, though I still manage to make more than my share of grammatical errors I assure you.Anyway, that first day, knowing very little French, I went to an excellent restaurant, highly recommended. I was starving. I was ready for one of those great French meals I had read about. I stared at the menu. There was nothing resembling an English word anywhere to be seen. I wanted to order something typically French but I had literally no idea what any of the dishes were that were listed on that sheet.I decided to go with one of the items that seemed to be perhaps more French than anything else listed. It was "choucroute." It had such a Gallic feel to it. I believed I could pronounce it okay even if I didn't know what it was. I was sure it was an example of French gourmet cuisine -- a piece, as the saying goes, of resistance.When the waiter brought it to me I nearly fell off my chair. My first day in France, my first meal in a fine, expensive French restaurant, and I had ordered… SAUERKRAUT!Took a few days to get over that experience. :-)

8 comments:

Oh dear - you live and learn !! We take our French food dictionary with us everywhere, even now. It helps us to avoid those oh-too-familiar nasty surprises on the plate. The book is now very well-thumbed and, sadly, out of print so very precious.

you know that french to english translation book you meant to pack?? hehe! there is absolutely nothing wrong with a good kraut but i surely know what you mean about enjoying your first truly french food...hope you more than made up for your faux pax?